The Allahabad High Court while allowing a petition said that no particular organisation can claim a vested right for being allotted a particular land in the Maha Kumbh Mela area only because the said land may have been allotted to it in the previous years.
The Division Bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Nand Prabha Shukla passed this order while hearing a petition filed by the Yog Satsang Samiti Through Its Director/ General.
This is a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India wherein the writ petitioner is aggrieved by the allotment letter, which has been downloaded on December 17, 2024, issued to it.
From the said letter, it appears that approximately 50,000 square feet of land has been allotted to the petitioner on 50 feet road.
Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that the petitioner has vested right in being allotted land on the junction of Triveni Marg and Mukti Marg during the Maha Kumbh Mela, as it was earlier allotted the same land during the Kumbh Mela held earlier in the years 2001, 2007 and 2013.
It is to be noted that in 2019, the petitioner was allotted land in a different location and no challenge to the said allotment was made by the petitioner.
Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of Prayagraj Mela Pradhikaran submitted that the particular location, which is being sought for by the petitioner, has been allotted or in the process of being allotted to the Shankaracharyas, Akharas and Maha Mandleshwars.
He further submitted that any change in the allotment made to the petitioner would require further changes to be made in the allotment to the Shankaracharyas, Akharas and Maha Mandleshwars.
The Court is of the view that the petitioner cannot claim a vested right for allotment, even if a particular piece of land had been allotted in the past to the petitioner. The particular Maha Kumbh Mela being organised this year would obviously be different from the earlier organised Kumbh Mela, as the extent of the Kumbhmela keeps increasing each year. Being a Mahakumbh, the Court appreciated that the State authorities are taking great care in allotting the land to the different institutions/organisations as per the policy established.
“In the case, in fact, it is observed that the petitioner was allotted a different land in 2019 and it had not raised any objection to the same at that time. This year, an allotment of land has been made to the petitioner to the extent of 50,000 square feet.
In light of the same, we do not find any reason to intervene with the said allotment,” the Court observed while allowing the petition.
“It will be left open to the petitioner to once again make a representation to the State authorities with regard to the prayer sought in the petition and the authorities are directed to consider the same and pass a reasoned order on the same within a period of seven days from the date such a representation is made. The State authorities are also directed to look into the fact that the petitioner has been a part of this tradition for a very long time and, if possible, land may be granted closer to the petitioner’s choice,” the order reads.